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Lincoln’s Downtown parking meters have all been upgraded to fancy new digital models. That was big news a couple months ago. At the time, some people bemoaned the change, fearing it would lead to broader parking rate increases. A tipster sent this in to me this morning:

Just wanted to pass this on. Last weekend my dad went to the farmers market and parked in [a] garage. They stayed less than an hour (first hour free is advertised) but when they left, they were charged $3. He had a long conversation with Park and Go.

They are removing the first hour free on Saturdays. This is something that I kind of saw coming when we talked about the new meters that they can adjust for football Saturday. This allows them to continue to charge $12+ on game day while also getting the same out of the meters.

I have also started seeing signs that read that the one hour free ends at 5.

It’s possible, though, that what the tipster’s father actually ran into was special event parking rates. They were charged $3 for “less than an hour” which is far above the normal rate of $1 per hour. Typically those special event rates are collected upon entrance to the garage, though. I haven’t been down to the Farmer’s Market in ages so I can’t say for sure what the parking situation is like.

Ultimately we’re left with a couple questions:

Is “first hour free” gone on Saturdays at some or all of the parking garages?

Does “first hour free” end at 5pm, or any other time?

Why was somebody charged $3 upon exiting a $1/hour parking garage after less than an hour?

The Missus and I drove through Holmes Lake Park last night out of curiosity over just how high the water had risen. At that point—around 7:30pm—the answer was “not all that high”. Portions of the lakeside trail (and a few benches) are underwater, but it’s nothing that doesn’t happen every couple years.

That got me thinking about a memory I have of a huge flood at the park. I very clearly remember the softball fields, volleyball courts—heck, pretty much the whole darn northern portion of the park—being under a whole lot of water. But what year was that? My rough estimate is sometime in the mid-90s. @HuskerInstanity suggested 1993, which sounds about right, though I don’t have any way to verify it. 1993 was the year of widespread flooding across the Midwest, so it’s probably the year I’m looking for. That’s probably also the same year that I remember Beal Slough stretching all the way from Highway 2 on the south right up to the homes on the north.

All this water is great from a certain perspective, but I can’t help shake this nagging feeling that some day soon the spigot is going to turn off and we won’t see precipitation again for many months. That’s what happened last year. Enjoy the water while it’s here.

John Q. Hammons, for a while a prominent (would-be) developer whose name was on many Lincolnites’ lips, has died.

Raise your hand if you remember John Q. Hammons. If you’ve been around Lincoln for a while, you should. He built the Embassy Suites and he had his eyes on a few other major projects. The most prominent included a proposal for the former Starship 9 location—now the home of the Larson Building—and a hotel at 17th and Q that fizzled after the City Council refused to use eminent domain to support the project. Those of you who have been reading this website since 2005—holy crap, has it been that long?!—will recall that I argued vehemently against using eminent domain on the 17th and Q project. Lincoln would be a very different place today had the Council caved to Hammons on that project.

Instead, Hammons gradually faded from local discussion. His influence never took off in Lincoln the way it appeared it might. Still, the decade or so during which he was active in Lincoln was a colorful one. He leaves behind the legacy of the Embassy Suites and a number of indirect influences that helped to boost to a Downtown on the rise.

Unfortunately, there’s a dark side to that great news. Mayor Beutler plans to celebrate by doing the Harlem Shake with members of his cabinet. The Harlem Shake, you may recall, was a craze that briefly swept over the interwebs eons ago—beginning way back in February of this year. Beutler may as well have promised to do The Urkel.

The second annual Give to Lincoln Day fires up tomorrow. You may recall that last year’s giving reached a whopping $1.3 million. There are tons of worthy causes to support here in Lincoln. Please take some time to browse through the participating organizations and choose one (or more than one!) that calls out to you.

Starting late last summer we did “foster care” of sorts for a friend’s dog as she went through a divorce and wound up in an apartment that didn’t accept pets. He went home a few weeks ago.

Ever since then, The Missus felt an emptiness in the house. She missed having two dogs around. And that’s how we wound up with Gertie.

Gertie is a 7 month old cocker spaniel from the Beatrice Humane Society. She was very shy when we met her—so shy, in fact, that although other families had looked at her, she had been stuck in the shelter for weeks. We saw through that, however. After spending time with her it was clear that she would make a great family dog. She wanted to bond with a family, she just hadn’t had the opportunity.

Sure enough, it didn’t take her long to find comfort here at 625 Elm Street. She is still learning to trust us, of course. That’s entirely natural for any pup, but especially for one from a shelter.

We met most of the other adoptable dogs from the Beatrice Humane Society. They were all very lovable. I really enjoyed meeting and playing with Bre, but she had way too much energy for our home. With three boys in the house we don’t need any more bounciness.

Currently the only way to access the list of the charities that a team can sponsor in the Havelock Charity Run is by (a) being a team captain, and (b) going through the registration process. I’ve made the list more accessible here so that you can more easily investigate your options before beginning the registration process. Click through to see it.

And here is a sample ballot (PDF) to look over. Note the charter amendments. That’s important stuff but neither issue has received a lot of press so far. Make sure you read and understand them before you go to the polls.